6.27.2014

I have some of the Color Foil collection from Sally Hansen to show you guys today. I'm sure you've heard the buzz about these by now! They are reminisecent of their Chrome line in the early 2000s. I had a bottle from that line in high school that I was obsessed with so I was super excited to see this finish return!

I have 5 of the 9 polishes all cool colors because that's what I gravitate towards usually. I did 2 coats of each polish. One almost covers entirely, the second was mostly to perfect the finsh.

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Cobalt Chrome is a blue with a slight hint of turquoise.

Leaden Lilac is a blue-violet color. Very unique!

Titanium Flush is a rosy pink shade. Pretty sure I had this exact color from the Chrome line back in the day!

Purple Alloy is a medium purple. Also part of my current mani!

And finally, Minted Metal is a lovely light green.

Chrome finish polishes do best without a base coat to get the smoothest application, however they do show imperfections on the nail, so buff beforehand to get the smoothest finish. These do have a very mirror like finish and dry almost instantly! Which is great for a quick mani when your short on time.

6.23.2014

I've got swatches of Sally Hansen's latest Insta-Dri collection and this time it's MATTE! This finish has been popping up more frequently (at least to me) and it's a welcome change for another option to mix up your typical manicure. I received half of this collection for review but because the Insta-Dri line is my fave from Sally Hansen, I had to get the rest when I came across them in Walgreens!

If you are familiar with matte polishes, you know they dry very quickly, take more effort to apply, and don't typically last as long as a glossy finish polish. But don't let this deter you! I'll give you some tips and tricks at the end of this post! Let's take a look at these beauties first. I did 2 coats of each.

White Pick It Fence. A white creme. White is notoriously a difficult shade to apply so this was the most finicky being a white and matte but it's nothing that can't be handled!

My personal fave is Coastin' By. Because who can say no to a perfect mint creme?!

Mauve Matter is a nude with pink undertones. This is great for a natural look with the matte finish giving it a little twist.

Mattitude in Motion. A bright pink. This one almost has a rubber finish to it...can you tell?

High 'n Dry is a true blue. It's very pigmented and I only needed a 2nd coat to help even out the coverage of the matte formula.

And finally, In a Haze. A gorgeous purple.

I honestly think the Insta-Dri signature flat and wide brush is a match made in heaven for applying a matte polish. Since mattes dry quickly, you have to work fast to get an even layer on the nail and this brush spreads to cover the majority of the nail in one swipe! Love it.

A few tips for applying matte polish:

* Skip base coat. Matte polishes will apply more smoothly instead of dragging and skipping over the smooth base.

* Buff your nails. Matte polishes tend to show ridges on the nail once dry and buffing will provide an even surface for a more flawless application.

* Hurry up and wait. Matte formulas dry much faster than a glossy finish, so to get a flawless application work quickly on each coat. But once you've completed a coat, wait for that to dry for a few seconds before doing a second coat, otherwise the polish will drag and create uneven patches.

*Make a sandwich. To help extend the wear of a matte polish, apply a coat or two of your matte polish and once that's dry, top it off with a glossy top coat making sure to wrap the tips (very important!). Once your top coat is dry, apply another coat of your matte shade. This really helps! I wore Coastin By as a full mani using this technique and after 48 hours there were only minor chips at the tips of my nails which is pretty good for a matte!